Harvesting machine



A. KERNS HARVESTING MACHINE June 241930.

Filed OCT.4 18. 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet -1 kwi @01, #25M-. A TTORNEY June 24, 1930.- A. KERNS HARYESTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 18, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q l JNVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented .lune 24, 17930 UNITED STATE Anon` KERNs, or GONZALES, CALIFORNIA HARVESTING MACHINE Application led October 18, 1928. Serial No. 313,275.

j off close to the ground and left in rows to be garnered.

The general purpose of my invention is to supply a harvesting machine which may be pushed or drawn through crops such as lo legumes in the direction of the rows thereof. The machine is provided with certain pairs of blades that are set obliquely to each other and adapted to scrape along the ground. 'lhe inner blades are longer than the outer so as to form Y-shaped openings of any suitable number or angle, each said opening being preferably wide enough at the forward end to take in two rows of the crop, saidblades however, not forming a completely closed Y but having the outer members cut off adjacent the inner, so as to leave room for the passage of the shorn crop out through the apex of said Y. Each blade has a cutting edge opposite the companion blade within the Y and is provided with backwardlypointing sweep-members adapted to converge two rows of cut crop into one, and also to act as guide means to prevent said crop from glutting the Ys or falling over the 715 an upper structural frame of suitable design to form the support for certain standards adapted to carry cutting blades which scrape along under the surface of the ground.

To provide a plurality of such blades setJ at oblique angles to each other in such a wayl that any pair of opposite blades will take in two rows of crop.

To provide sweep-guide-members.

To provide a pivoted structure adapted to be elevated at the forward end when turning headlands or traveling in disuse.

To provide certain novel front wheels having pivotal bearing-stems combining rack elements and pinion means co-operative therewith for the elevation or depression of said cutting bladesrelative to the surface of the ground to be traversed.

To provide antifriction guide means for a vertically movable frame.

. To provide locking and release means for maintaining the said frame in relative raised position.

With the foregoing and other advantages, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts, particularly dened in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan of the machine of my invention with a diagrammatically-shown tractor.

Fig. 2 showsthe machine in side elevatlon.

Fig. 8 shows, on allarger scale, a plan view of a section of a blade carrying a sweep member. y

Fig. 4: is a cross-section through Fig. 3 on the line I-I.

Fig. 5 is a sectional-elevational view'of a pivotal bearing-element, taken on the line II-II or IIA-IIA of Fig. l.

Fig. 6 is a sectional-elevational View taken on the line III-III of Fig. 9.

Fig. 7 is a cross-section taken on the line rv-rv or rig. e.

Fig. 8 is a plan of a modified bearing-element with the vertical part thereof removed along the line V-V of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is an isom-etrical view of the antifrictional element taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. l.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring in detail to the drawings 100 B is a diagraminatical r'epresentationof a tractor, to the rear'end of which is pivoted the side frame members 7 and 7a by means of the pipe or shaft 8 carried in thebbeari'ng 9, said members being tree for vertical pivotal movement on the shaft but secured against lateral movement thereon by means of the collars 10-10 secured to the shait 8 by the through-pins 11.

Said side members (preferably steel channels) extend parallelly forward to the right so as to make right angle connection Vat the points 13-13 with the front member of the structural frame 12. From points approxi: mately adjacent the center of the length oi the member 12 the standard-bearing frame Vmembers 14 and 15 run back obiiquely out to connect with the respective members 7 and 7a, whereas, from the outer points 15 and 16a ofthe member 12vthe outer standardl bearing frame members 17l and 17a are disposed at inwardly inclined angles to connect with the respective frame members 7 and 7a. The purpose of said outer members is to act asa rigid support for the respective standards 18-18 and 18U'f-l8a, whereas, the

purpose of the members 14 and 15 is for the rigid support of their respective standards 19, 19, 19, and 19, 19a, 19, all of which standards are held rigidly'in relation to their relative :trame members by the wellknown U-bolt means 20, being adjustably secured by the nuts 21. Y

All said standards are suitably bowed for crop-matter to pass thereby, as is well 3b shown in Fig. 2, and have 'their bottom ends iattened ofi:l to a horizontal plane so that when their respective blades 22 etc., are attached thereto and thereunder, said blades will be in a horizontal plane. Said blades i are preferably of fiat steel beveled at 23 to a cutting edge, all along one side, as is well shown in Figs. 3 land 4.

All said blades are provided with sweep guide-members as 24 or other suitable shape adapted to act as a fender and guide to crowd crop matter over from said blades so as to dispose said matter according to the course of the indicating arrows, as will later appear. The members 24 may have their attaching ends 25 flattened as shown in Fig. 3 and be attached to the respective blades by riveting or other suitable means as 26. Y v

Owing to the peculiar dispositions of the various frame members 14, 15, 17 and 17EL with relation to the frame members 7, 7EL and 12, the portion of said structural frame in advance of the tractor element B is very rigid against side flexure although comparatively flexible to inequalities of surface. In

order to stiften said frame against side flex* ure in the parts thereotl which traverse the length of the tractor element where cross or Y ydiagonal braces from the member 7` to Pare impractical, the turn-buckle elements 26,

the center of which the pivotal stem 29 extends in the bearing 30.

Said stem isV rotatable 1n the bearing 30 and of round section for a suitable distance up, the remainder of its length being provided with a series of ringed grooves 29 whose contouris adapted for interengagement with a fixed pinion 31, said series of grooves being in effect a rack which may be revolved to any degree without loss of 'engagement, as well shown in Figs. 2 and 5.v

By reference to 1, the shaft l32 mounted in the bearings 33-33 carried by the forward end of said frame lies parallel to the pivotal means 8. Said shaft is provided with the pinions 31, 31 keyed tast thereto, and int-ermeshing with the respective groovedV elements 29a. fKeyed iiast to the shaft 32 is tl e worm gear 34 intermeshing with the worm 35 suitably mounted in the housing 36, said -worm being preferably lett-hand and of self-locking pitch, being manually operated by a drivers" right hand when in the seat 37 by turning the wheel 38 thus rotating the shaft 39 keyed to the worm 35.

For cases where a self-locking worm is not used but one or" steeper pitch is preferred, I provide on the shaft 39 the ratchet 4() with its pawl 41 keyed to the rod 42 and provided with the cranked handle 43.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 show a second embodiment wherein the steam 29n is formed of plain round stock tor the entire length thereof, said stem being rotatable within the bushing member 44. said member (as well shown in Fig. 8) being provided with the vertically disposed rack member 45 projecting tothe left from the square-socket bearing 46, said bearingas shown in Fig. 7 being` slotted at 47 to accommodate said rack. The bushing 44 being slidable and nonrevoiuble within the bearing 46 affords suitable interengagement between the raci 45 and the pinion 31, whereas the plain-faced idle wheel 48, pivoted at 49 backs up the pinion so as to provide rolling contact while the pinion is traversing the rack, thereby reducing friction; the idier 50 operating in the same way but is toothed to interengage with the grooved elements In operation the tractor is first alined between the middle rows 52 and 53, then as the machine moves forward the respective blades shim along so as to shear the rows of grain off close to the ground whilst the guide-members 24 crowd the stems oi the plants over, the effect of this is to comingle the rows 5l and 52 into the single row 52a, and the rows 53 and 54 into the single row 54a, thus clearing said single rows of the path of the tractor.

Should a depression in the surface be met the front of the machine can be raised by a clockwise manipulation of the hand wheel 38, which will prevent the blades from digging into the ground; similarly thel machine can be raised to the position of the dotted line when turning headlands or when traveling from place to place.

VVh'en thus being raised from the operative to non-operative positions the frame structure is maintained in true alinement and side friction is minimized by the antifriction elements 55 and .55a mounted in the channels 7 and 7 and adapted to make contact with the vertical guides 56 and 56EL respectively. Y

It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will now be clearly understood. The present embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail merely by way of example, since in actual practice they attain the fea- -tures of advantage set forth as desideratums in the statement of the invention and the above description.

Numerous changes in the details of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is l. rlhe combination in a harvesting Amachine, of a structural frame having adjacent the rear end thereof vertically pivotal means of attachment to a propelling means, said frame comprising forwardly-extending parallel members suitably spaced apart, a front transverse frame member secured to the forward ends of said parallel members, portions of said member extending beyond each parallel member, outer diagonal frame members whose forward ends are secured adjacent the ends of each extending member, the backward ends thereof being secured to the adjacent parallel member, inner diagonal frame members secured to said transverse member adjacent the middle thereof, said inner members being of greater length than the outer members and each secured to the inner side of its companion parallel frame member, said inner diagonal members inclosing an isescelar triangular figure open at the apex, the said outer diagonals enclosing right triangular figures so disposed as to leave passage-way for crop matter between the apexes thereof and the sides of the isoscelar figure; front wheels for the support of said frame in normally horizontal position, standards suitably attached to said inner and said outer frame 2. In a harvesting machine as specified in claim l, one or more front wheels olf-setv from vertically-journaled axes, said axes being provided with rack-like elements for interengagement with pinion means carried by the frame, a shaft to carry the pinion and manually-operable means for rotating said pinion so as to traverse up or down the rack element, and means for looking or releasing said pinion at any point of elevation in relation to the rack element, said pinion and said element constituting a means for elevating the front end o f said machine combined with the ability to turn in any direction with respect to the ground surface.

3. In a harvesting machine as defined in claim l, having a vertical pinion intermeshing with a rack element, a horizontal shaft for said pinion, a worm gear on the shaft, a worm element engaging the worm gear, a drive shaft for the worm suitably journaled and provided with means for manual rotation thereof adjacent the operator.

4. In a harvesting machine as set forth in claim l, having revoluble wheel-axes and being provided with rack elements interengaging pinion means carried by the frame, idle antifriction means diametrically opposing said pinion and constituting a frictional relief between said axes and the contacting surfaces of their journals.

5. In a harvesting machine as defined in claim l, a plurality of standards disposed below and suitably attached to said outer diagonal frame members, a plurality of standards disposed below and suitably attached to said inner diagonal frame members, bevel-edged blades secured to the standard, said standards suitably bowed to clear the crop. and suitably-mounted guide members adapted to gather two rows of crop matter into one row as the machine traverses the rows.

6. In a harvesting machine according to claim l, having parallel structural frame members diagonally braced in the forward portion thereof, outer turn-buckle means vadapted to brace the rear portion of said parallel frame against outward flexure, and anti-friction elements carried by said parallel members on the inner sides thereof, said elements being adapted to make rolling contact against relatively stationary vertical abutment means, said elements constituting means for lightening the lift when raising the front end of the machine.

7. A harvesting machine of the character described comprising a rectangular frame having side members adapted to be pivotally attached to a suitable tractor and adapted to be raised and lowered at its forward end, the latter being supported on adjustable wheels, said frame having mounted'thereon diagonal members, the forward ends of I which are attached to a transversermember of the rectangular frame and the rear ends attached to the side members, said diagonal members being relatively arranged in pairs in the form respectively of a Y on each side m of the frame, and the inner member of each pair being of greater length than the outer member, said diagonal members being provided With harvesting blades, arranged and adapted to scrape along the surface of the ground and harvest the crops as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, this 4th day of October, 1928. zo ADOLF KERNS.

'sof' 

